


Murtagh & Nasuada, Love Without Hope

by Deirana



Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:07:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24357811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deirana/pseuds/Deirana
Summary: Galbatorix was defeated, but this victory is very bitterly bought. Nasuada, in particular, has reason to grieve, for she has lost more than others suspect.The Story is AU.
Relationships: Murtagh Morzansson/Nasuada
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. A bitter victory

**First of all, the legal one. I have no rights to eragon's story and the characters do not belong to me, but Christopher Paolini.**

**I don't make money with this fan fiction and write it just for my own pleasure (and hopefully a few readers like it too).**

**This story deals with the possibility of a relationship between Murtagh and Nasuada. I find it easy to find this pairing offers many possibilities for tragic and romantic moments. The story dates back to 2008. At that time only the 1st and 2nd volumes had been published in Germany. Therefore, things like Eldurnadi and events from volume 3 do not occur. I published the story in Germany on FF.de. "Murtagh § Nasuada, Liebe ohne Hoffnung", and my name is called Deira.**

**A bitter victory**

Galbatorix was defeated, his dead body lying next to that of his dragon Shruikan. He had stretched the black wings from himself and offered an almost bizarre sight, which chased some of the attendees a slight shiver over the back.

Galbatorix was covered by one of the wings, almost as if the black dragon wanted to protect his false rider from prying eyes at the last moment.....

Eragon and Nasuada stood beside the defeated enemies, and exhausted, the young dragon rider fell to the ground.

"We made it! Thanks shruikan!" Eragon said after a while, while his dragon lady Sapphirea landed next to him and Nasudada on the battlefield.

  
" _Are you fine, Little one_?" she asked anxiously, but her rider remained silent.

Around them lay wounded and dead soldiers. Healers of the Du Vangr Gata took care of them and Eragon turned his gaze to a young man who was lying near the black dragon and groaned with a pain-distorted gaze. His leg was bleeding and he held a hand pressed on the wound.

"I have to help the injured! Trianna and her people need support!" said Eragon, making arrangements to stand up, but Nasuada put a hand on his shoulder.

"You also need a moment of rest! The battle and especially the fight against Galbatorix were very exhausting for you and almost you would have lost your life as well......"

Eragon nodded in distress and watched gratefully as the leader of the Du Vangr Gata, Trianna, bent down to the injured young soldier and took care of his wounds.A great and lossy battle lay behind them, the armies of the Vardens, elves and dwarves, as well as their other allies, had come across the king's troops. 

Galbatorix had still been superior to them, for the king still drew his own strength from the abandonment of souls. 

That dungeon in Uru'baen, where the souls of the dragon riders defeated by the king were trapped.....

"By the death of the king they were liberated," Eragon thought. In fact, he had not yet felt ready to go into battle, but Galbatorix had advanced with a large army and had left him and his allies with no choice.

"I was already weakened by the battle and the battle with Murtagh.....," Eragon thought, and his gaze wandered to a more distant point, and he realized that Nasuada was also staring there.

There was another dead dragon, who had rolled up into a red ball when he died, unlike Shruikan, he had really tried to protect his rider.....

"Galbatorix would have defeated me. But then Shruikan could not bear all the misery and he killed his wrong rider. He didn't care if he survived the battle or not," Eragon muttered, rising.

'It was no different. I didn't want to kill Murtagh, but he left me no choice. Galbatorix had ordered him to kill me after realizing that his plan to resurrect the Dragon Riders would never succeed," Eragon said softly, but Nasuada shook his head and turned away from him.

"I'm sorry, too," she said softly, and Eragon thought, before turning away, to see tears shimmering in her eyes. And wasn't there such a thing as an accusation in their eyes?

"That it was so close to her..... they hardly knew each other," Eragon thought, depressed, and walked toward the dead red dragon and his horseman.

Some soldiers had gathered around the former dead enemy and stared contemptuously down at him.

"We should let the vultures eat their bodies! They don't deserve anything better," muttered one of the men, but Eragon shook his head. "No, we won't. We will bury them decently...."..."

He found it difficult to see his brother in the dead dragon rider. Nevertheless, pictures rose in Eragon. Pictures that reminded him of the friendship that had once connected him and Murtagh. Together they had freed Arya from Durza's violence and fought side by side in Farthen Dur....

After that, they had only seen each other twice, on the burning steppes and now, during this terrible battle.

 _"He attacked me and wanted to kill me! I tried to talk to him and paralyze him by magic to keep him out. I didn't want to kill him. But everything else failed and he left me no choice,"_ Eragon said to Sapphira, who had sadly stepped beside him and gently stumped the dead red dragon.

 _"Dorn was the last of its kind besides Shruikan and Glaedr. Two dead dragons in a battle.... Despite the victory, this was a terrible day for my people,"_ Said Saphira, depressed and Eragon silent.

Would his dragon lady never find a companion and remain alone forever? Oromis and his dragon Glaedr had also died a few weeks ago, his old wound had ultimately killed the elf.

But then Eragon saw his cousin Roran come up and call his name. 

He was followed by Katrina, which Roran had apparently freed from the dungeons of Uru'baen. 

At Hellgrind, they were once trapped, from which they had only difficulty escaping. Katrina had found herself in Uru'baen all the time, and roran had rushed to Uru'baen with a squad of soldiers after the battle had ended to search for the long-missing fiancée.

Eragon gave his cousin and his exhausted-looking fiancée a short smile. "Katrina! I'm glad to see you!" he said.

She nodded and Roran handed Eragon a bag. "Galbatorix magicians pushed it into my hand. When they learned that the king had been defeated, they were in a hurry to surrender. As a sign of their goodwill, they send this to you!"

Eragon glanced into the bag and another smile scurried across his face. _"Saphira, in this bag is ..... the green dragon egg!_ "

Roran, meanwhile, had sat down next to Murtagh on the ground and looked at the dead sadly. "It shouldn't have stopped like this! He wasn't as bad as many here think. Poor Nasuada!"

"Nasuada? What does she have to do with him? And where did you know Murtagh? You never had anything to do with him," Eragon asked, astonished, before spreading a blanket over Murtagh's leich and looking in the face of the brother he had never seen as such.

Roran shrugged. "That.... only concerns Nasuada..... I'm so sorry for them.'

He pressed Katrina on himself and gently stroked over her hair. 


	2. How it all started....

A few days later, Murtagh, along with an urn containing Thorn's ashes, had been buried in a small cemetery near Uru'baen.

The funeral had been quiet, and only Eragon, Roran and Katrina had stood at his grave when a literal gravedigger filled it with earth.

"He didn't have too many friends at the end, didn't he?" asked Katrina, and Roran put an arm around his fiancée, who he wanted to marry as soon as possible.

Eragon shook his head. "No, he didn't have many friends. This was already the case in his childhood, many wanted nothing to do with him, because of Morzan..... he lived lonely and died lonely."

"Morzan, who fortunately wasn't your father," Roran muttered softly.

Eragon agreed. "Yes, I'm glad I had nothing to do with him and that Brom was my father. Even though I still wish he had told me. I had to learn about Oromis...."

"Murtagh couldn't console himself with the fact that someone else was his father," Roran said, and Eragon cast him an astonished glance. "You understand his situation? I had that, even when we last fought each other. Nor was it his fault that he had to fight for Galbatorix. Still.... I wish it had been different!"

"Roran, I want to leave here," Katrina said at one point. "I want to go where it is... warmer. This cemetery is just depressing and there have been so many terrible things in recent times!"

"You're right! It's time for you to rest a little!" roran replied, addressing Eragon. "Do you want to stay here for a moment?"

Eragon nodded and remained alone at Murtagh's grave. "I'm sorry! I wish..... but it is no longer useful!"

For a while, the young dragon rider stopped at the grave before he too left the cemetery.

The night broke out over Uru'baen when a dark figure rushed to the cemetery and stopped in front of Murtagh's grave.

Nasuada looked around on all sides. She didn't want her to be spotted here. She didn't care if anyone would bother with her visit to the tomb of the dead dragon rider or if there would be stupid chatter.

But she wanted to be undisturbed and be able to visit the tomb in the future.

The leader of the Vardens bent down next to the tomb and placed a bouquet of yellow and white meadow flowers on it.

"Otherwise, hardly anyone will bring you flowers," she said softly, wiping away a few tears. 

"They all think of you as a monster. Even Orik, the king of the dwarves, said that now he must at least not kill you himself and most see in you another defeated enemy. They call your and Galbatorix names in one breath. Only Arya had a little understanding for you and found some kind words.... and of course Roran!"

It almost seemed as if the young woman was waiting for an answer, but of course she didn't get one. She rose and stared at the burial mound at her feet. The bouquet seemed almost a little lost and she decided to return in the next few days and plant a few flowers in the ground.

Memories rose in her and they put a smile on her lips. At that time she had visited Murtagh in his cell and they had talked to each other for a long time. About the books they had read, about Murtagh's childhood in Uru'baen and his journey with Eragon.

_Nasuada sat next to him in Murtagh's cell on his comfy bed and listened to him._

_"Then you befriended you during your journey," she said, and he nodded. "Yes, we have. Most of the time I had to take care of him. He's a good guy, but sometimes a little... Clumsy. He just needs someone to take care of him and keep him from falling into traps. I hope that Saphira will take on this task in the future!"_

_Nasuada smiled. "A clumsy dragon rider? If you know the old stories, you can't really imagine anything like that. They are either brave and strong, like Vrael, the former leader of the riders, or brutal and horrible like Morz... I mean, like the Dragon Riders who joined Galbatorix...."_

_Nasuada would have preferred to have bitten her tongue when she gave Morzan's name, but it was too late for that, because Murtagh's smile disappeared for a moment. "You wanted to say Morzan! And you're right! He really isn't a father I'm proud of. Luckily, this looks different for you! What does Ajihad say about you being here?"_

_Nasuada shrugged and was glad that he did not resent her remark. "I almost never listen to what he tells me. He wants to ban me a lot..... but he knows full well that I do not abate in it, and therefore he is not angry with me. Of course he didn't want me to look after you, but I'm sure he knows full well that I'm here right now!"_

_"Then you won't get in trouble?" Murtagh inquired, looking at the young woman anxiously. "That.... I don't want to!"_

_"Not?" she inquired, smiling, but at the same time felt like a trample. Wasn't it too intrusive? But Murtagh seemed far from disturbed by her presence. He reached for her hand and pressed her._

_Unfortunately, it knocked on the door at that moment and Jörmundur, an old companion of her father, stepped in._

_"I have a few questions for the... Prisoners," he said, and Nasuada rose._

_She wondered if Murtagh would have held her hand for even longer had they not been disturbed. Perhaps even more would have happened?_

_With a hint of regret, she left Murtagh's cell and went to Eragon. "He should visit his friend once, I have the impression that Murtagh is a little alone there," she thought._

Nasuada smiled at the memory of her first encounter with Murtagh. She never thought she would like Morzan's son and that she would end up holding his hand. 

"I really expected to meet someone with horns on their heads," she thought, and regretted afterwards that they had been disturbed by Jörmundur at the time.

The next time she met Murtagh after the Battle of Farthen Dur. He stood at the door of the room where Angela was looking after the injured Eragon and she also wanted to inquire about the condition of the injured man....

_"How is he?" asked Nasuada, and Murtagh turned to her. He told her to follow him and they retreated to a dark corner to speak in peace._

_A bandage had been wrapped around his head and he gave her a soothing smile. "Eragon woke up before and he's doing better, Angela hopes he'll recover completely. Especially poor Sapphira is relieved!"_

_"Good luck! It would have been really sad for all of us if he had not survived this fight with Durza!" said Nasuada, and Murtagh nodded._

_She gave herself a jolt. "And it would be... would have been even sadder if you hadn't survived it. What about your head? Is it very bad?"_

_"No, that was a Urgal, or rather his club, which he carried with him.... nothing bad," Murtagh said, brushing a strand of hair from Nasuada's face. "So you would have been sorry if I had..."_

_She nodded and held her hand, gently touching her cheek. "It would have been a great pity," she said softly, trying to give him a kiss on the cheek, but then he turned his head and instead hit his lips._

_To her delight, he answered the kiss and looked at her happily afterwards._

_"Lady Nasuada?" a voice rang out, and Nasuada drove around. She saw Arya approaching and Murtagh and sighed inwardly. Again they were disturbed....._

"We didn't have the opportunity to talk to each other again," Nasuada thought sadly. 

"Shortly afterwards he left with my father and some of his people. Both of them, through the betrayal of these cursed twins, have not returned. I thought both were dead, but only one was true. I was able to bury my father and then I became the leader of the Vardens.

She took a look at Murtagh's grave. "I had to bury you now," she thought, as it began to rain easily. She pulled the cape of her cape over her hair and rose.

"I'll be back soon," she said softly, taking one last look at the tomb. Then she would plant the flowers. 


	3. Nightly encounter

A few days later, Nasuada returned to Murtagh's grave. It was early morning and the sun had not yet risen. Clouds of fog lay over the graves, but the scenery did not seem eerie or threatening, because a slight reddish shimmer was already evident in the east.

With a smile, the young woman remembered the previous night. A small dragon had hatched from the green dragon egg.

"Murtagh, there's a new little dragon," she said, sitting in front of the burial mound and starting to loosen the earth a little. 

She then reached for a bag that hung on her belt and threw some seeds on the ground.

"Next spring, beautiful flowers will bloom here....." she muttered, and for a moment all the good mood that had appeared in her since last night faded away. But then she forced herself to smile again.

"Arya is a dragon rider! Last night she came to Eragon and said that the thought of the green egg had haunted her all day since she saw it from adistance. She didn't even feel anything like this with Saphira's egg, even though she protected it for years. We went to Eragon's room, where he kept the green egg. Then Arya took it in her hand and the little dragon hatched. I couldn't believe it, it was almost already..... Funny. First one paw lurked out of the egg, then a second. Next, the head bursts out of the shell. Unfortunately, the rest of the ice didn't really want to give in and the little green guy had to fight a lot until he was finally free. And then Arya held him in his arms and he licked her face...."

Nasuada paused for a moment in her story. Was it so similar for Murtagh when his dragon hatched with him? Or was this done in a threatening and gloomy atmosphere?

She continued: "Sapphire in particular is happy, finally there is another dragon in the world. Unfortunately, they are now the only ones of their kind, and unless a small miracle happens, they will end in the next generation at the latest. Should Saphiras and Firnen have offspring, who should they mate with?"

Nasuada sighed. 'But we shouldn't think that far now. At the moment everyone is happy about little Firnen. That's how Arya called her dragon. And Arya said that eragon must now teach her everything that his former teacher had emptied him. Did you know there was another Dragon Rider? An old elf named Oromis. He taught Eragon, but despite his teaching, Eragon could not oppose you so much in your first fight, even if you believed that this would have been possible under other circumstances...."

_They had won the battle on the burning steppes, but real joy did not want to appear with the Vardens and their allies. The appearance of an enemy dragon rider and the death of the Dwarf King had shaken them too much._   
_Nasuada still couldn't really believe that the enemy dragon rider was to be Murtagh._

_"He cannot really side with the king. But on the other hand, he told Eragon that this was not really voluntary.....", thought the young leader of the Vardens after Eragon, whose cousin Roran and Arya had left their tent._

_She sat on her bed tired and exhausted and looked carelessly at her armor. She herself had suffered some minor injuries during the fight and would visit one of the healers the_ _next day and ask him to take care of it._

_'It's just a few bruises, so I don't need to bother them now. They have to take care of so many others....," Nasuada thought, blowing out the candle that was on a table in her tent._

_She crawled into her bed and closed her eyes. But she couldn't quite rest, her thoughts were still too much about the past battle and about Murtagh...._

_A frightening thought came to her. Had he even deceived them all from the beginning? Sneaked into Eragon's trust to spy on her? Had he even done things together with the twins? And had he just played something to her? His kindness, his kiss, his apparent affection for her, was it a lie?_

_Nasuada sat up. In the meantime, the camp had largely been quiet, most of its people had apparently laid to rest._

_In front of her tent, a soldier kept watch and at one time she felt sorry for the man. Hadn't he fought in battle?"_

_She rose and pushed her tent tarpaulin aside._

_"Lady Nasuada?" the soldier inquired, and she gave him a brief smile. "You should also rest! Try to get a little sleep!"_

_The soldier yawned, but hesitated for a moment, only when the young leader of the Vardens again asked him to rest, he responded visibly relieved to this instruction...._

_"The poor guy was completely exhausted," Nasuda thought, and sat down on her bed again._

_She closed her eyes and tried to think. Did Eragon and his cousin rest? Surely the two had a lot to discuss...._

_At one time, Nasuada shrugged as a figure in a dark cape scurried into her tent._

_She quickly jumped up, but the intruder was faster and held his hand in front of her mouth._

_"Don't scream," whispered a familiar voice, and his hand was carefully pulled away. The hood was pulled back and Nasuada looked into Murtagh's face._

_"Murtagh! What.... and how....," Nasuada stammered, but quickly caught himself again._

_She pushed the enemy Dragon Rider aside and reached for her sword, which was still lying beside her bed._

_"What do you want here? Kill me or grind to Galbatorix? Forget it!"_

_"If I wanted to, you would either be dead or you would be sitting on the back of my dragon," Murtagh replied softly, asking, "Please put this sword away before you cut yourself on it...."_

_"It certainly doesn't happen to me," she said, but knew it was the wrong moment to talk about her martial arts._

_"Please put it away," Murtagh asked again, and at one time he made a lost impression on the young woman._

_She dropped her weapon to the ground and forced herself to rest. "What do you want here? Actually, I would have to scream the whole camp together!"_

_"Then I would have to fight against anyone who comes in here. And you certainly don't want that," Murtagh replied depressedly. "Believe me, I'm so fed up with it....."_

_"But.... why don't you come back to us? Surely there is King Hrotgar and the dwarves are very upset because of this.... but maybe..." said Nasuada, noting that she wished he would respond to her offer._

_"Surely Eragon, Arya, or the Elves could help you stop returning to Galbatorix!"_

_Murtagh shook his head sadly. 'Unfortunately, that's not possible. Eragon has already suggested it to me. But since Galbatorix knows my secret name, I unfortunately have no room for manoeuvre in this regard. Actually, I should have already returned to him, but I have to expect a penalty anyway, because I do not bring Eragon back with me. I had to see you.... and explain it to you. I didn't want to kill the Dwarf King, and I didn't want to fight Eragon. I had the task of waiting until Eragon was exhausted from the battle, then I should attack him."_

_Nasuada nodded slowly and reached for Murtagh's hand. "Then it wasn't all a wrong game from you? You didn't deceive me and the others all the time? And that.... with us... was not a lie?"_

_Murtagh replied to Nasuaa's handshake. "No, it wasn't a lie and I didn't want to deceive you. But these cursed twins...."_

_"Where is your dragon?" asked Nasuada, worried at one time._

_Murtagh laughed briefly. "Dorn is very close. Your protective spells are easy to bypass, you should all check them again.... or better not, because otherwise I can't visit you anymore!"_

_"You can't come back here!" said Nasuada, and Murtagh's smile disappeared. "I know! You have a responsibility towards your people and actually I am your enemy!"_

_She nodded. "That's you. And as long as you serve Galbatorix, whether voluntarily or not, you will be nothing else. But....."_

_He embraced her and she leaned her head against Murtagh's shoulder. Gently he stroked over her hair. " You are injured. I will heal your injuries._

_Nasuada felt a warmth spreading in her body and her pain disappeared. Murtagh still held her and she enjoyed the moment._

_But then he said quietly, "I will not come to you any more. I am afraid we will not be able to see each other again. I need to get back to Galbatorix and answer him as soon as possible."_

_"And I have to come up with something to see how we defeat the king. Eragon said you were completely impressed by his plans?" she asked at one point, pushing Murtagh aside. "You seriously believe in what he says? That he wants to resurrect the Dragon Riders? What kind of riders are these supposed to be? Such as you who are his slaves? Is this what you want for little dragons and their riders?"_

_"No, I certainly don't want that. Sometimes I tell myself that maybe he might be right with what he does...", Murtagh replied thoughtfully._

_"You're talking about it. Do you want to make it more bearable for yourself?" Nasuada inquired, and now it was she who closed Murtagh's arms and stroked over his hair._

_He stood there for a while before he broke free from her embrace. "I have to go..." he said, pulling the hood of his cape back in front of his face._

_Murtagh quickly left the tent and Nasuada sat on her bed depressed. Was there no hope of helping Murtagh?_

"There was really no way," Nasuada said, rising again. 

The sun rose slowly and it would be a beautiful day in late autumn. A slight gust of wind ripped some leaves from the trees and they spread over the graves..... 

**At that time, Book 4 did not exist. Nevertheless, the dragon here is also called Firnen. In the old German version I had given him another name, but then I decided to give it the right name for this newer version.**


	4. One last meeting before the end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here, too, the story is slowly coming to an end. So have fun reading.

**Half a year later....**

Eragon entered the study that Nasuada had set up in the fortress of Uru'baen. It was located near Galbatorix's former private rooms. The Dragon Rider and the Magicians of Du Vangr Gata had already thoroughly searched them.

Some magical items had passed into the possession of the young Dragon Rider, and several scrolls had appeared, which Eragon, together with the new rider Arya, carefully studied.

He was only concerned about the future of the Dragons.

Nasuada gave Eragon a brief smile as he entered her room. "I still have to finish this list. King Orrin needs them!"

"He is a good king, it was a wise decision to make him ruler of Alagaesia and to provide him with you and Jörmundur as advisers," Eragon said.

Nasuada nodded. "How is your cousin and his wife doing?"

Eragon smiled. "They are doing very well. They will have their child next spring. The construction of Carvahall is also proceeding rapidly. Only yesterday Roran wrote to me and he sends you his greetings!"

Nasuada nodded. "I'm happy for them. You've had to go through a lot!"

They watched in silence for a moment before Eragon spoke again. "I will soon leave for Ellesmera. Arya's training is almost complete, but we both still have a lot to learn. And the elves are waiting to finally get to know the green dragon! Queen Islanzadi also misses her daughter."

"I will oversee the reconstruction work here in Uru'baen. King Orrin refuses to stay in King Galbatorix's former rooms until they have been completely redesigned. I can even understand it!" 

"You don't want to leave Galbatorix city?" Eragon asked his former feudal lord.

She shook her head. 'It's no longer his city. In the meantime, hardly anything reminds of him. People are better off now, they seem freer and happier. We have already achieved a lot!"

Nasuada said she had another reason to stay in the city. So she still felt close to Murtagh, whose grave was nearby....."I just wish I didn't have to worry about the future of the dragons," Sighed Eragon. 'I really don't know what to do with them. We only have one male and one female dragon."

Nasuada smiled weakly. "Maybe there will still be dragons somewhere!"

Eragon nodded. "Yes, but maybe not here or in any of the neighbouring countries. Maybe they fled across the sea! Perhaps one day we will have to leave Alagaesia to look for her. I've already spoken to Arya about it. Actually, we don't want to, but we also have to think about the dragons!"

"Yes, you have to think about the dragons," Nasuada said, lost in thought, recalling a conversation she had with Murtagh.

At that time they had approached Uru'baen and the one decisive battle was imminent.

_Together with Roran, Nasuada sneaked out of the camp, both wearing the armor of a soldier from Surda._

_A few days earlier, Roran had met the leader of the Vardens weeping in her tent and she had confided in him....._

_"So you really want to meet Murtagh again! This refugee, who was looking for refuge with us, was actually a messenger from him?" Roran asks nervously, but then adds: "I understand that you want to see him again. If it were about Katrina, I would do the same! Actually, I should have told Eragon about it..."_

_"Eragon does not have the oversight of me. And you don't need to accompany me! In an emergency, you couldn't protect me anyway!" nasuada replied, as she heard a noise about herself and a red dragon landed in front of them._

_Roran pulled his hammer out of his belt. It was still his preferred weapon. The leader of the Vardens put her hand on his arm, while Murtagh rose from the back of his dragon._

_It was the first time Nasuada saw the dragon up close and a little worried her about the sight. Meanwhile, Dorn was bigger than Sapphira and he seemed stronger than the Dragon Lady._

_Murtagh approached Nasuada, and the next moment they hugged each other. "You have come.... I didn't know if Rico would be able to deliver my message. He was a servant in the fortress of Uru'baen and he has another message for you when everything is over and Galbatorix should be defeated...."_

_"What message?" asked Nasuada, but Murtagh shook his head. "He will not host them until the king is no longer alive. Only so much, I have discovered something in my father's documents.... please do not ask him before the battle, which will take place soon. Promise me!"_

_Hesitantly, Nasuada nodded. "I will not question him until after the battle and make sure that nothing happens to Rico! Or you'll tell me!"_

_"I don't expect to survive!" said Murtagh calmly, and this time it was up to Nasuada to shake his head._

_"No, you will stay alive. You will continue your life in freedom and maybe it will be for us...."_

_Murtagh cut a strand of hair from her face and looked over at Roran, who watched him and Nasuada suspiciously. "You look very similar to Eragon! You're Roran, aren't you?"_

_Roran nodded. "Yes, and I came along to watch out for Nasuada. Probably I couldn't do anything against you. But at least I will try, if you intend to drag them to Uru'baen!"_

_"That's the last thing I want for them! She shouldn't be like your fiancé Katrina!" said Murtagh, and Roran, who was also his cousin, shrugged. "What about her? How is she doing? We didn't find them at Hellgrind back then...."_

_'She's doing well at the moment. She was in the dungeon for a long time, but I gave the guards a little money to make it a little more comfortable..." Murtagh said softly, pressing Nasuada on herself._

_Suddenly, he grabbed his head. "The king calls for me! He wants to talk to me about the battle. About our approach. But I already know what part of his plan looks like. Eragon is to fight the Mages again and use his powers. Then I will fight against him and if I do not defeat him, Galbatorix himself will compete against him.... Tell him not to get involved in fights with the magicians...."_

_"He found out about Galbatorix, about his source of power....." Nasuada began, but Murtagh interrupted her._

_"Then he knows even more than I do. And I don't want to know. I don't know what I can and can't keep secret from him.'_

_He gave her a careful kiss on her lips, then Murtagh turned away and climbed onthorn's back...._

"That's when I saw him alive the last time. And Rico, who was to do something of Murtagh to me, was gone...", Thought Nasuada, wondering what message Rico might have had for her. 


	5. Murtagh's Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here, too, the story finds a hopefully somewhat conciliatory end, which awakens a little hope for the future.....

A few days later, nasuaa's door was knocked and a soldier led a young man in. He looked at the leader of the Varden uncertainly and it took a moment before she recognized him.

"Rico! We have already searched for you..... then, after the battle!" she said, giving the soldier a wink to leave her alone with the guest.

The young man was wearing simple clothes and seemed uncomfortable to face the former leader of the Varden.

"I just ran away from it after the battle. It was like that.... Terrible. This fight and all the dead. I couldn't bear it anymore and just wanted to leave. I went to my family, who live near Teirm. From there I left to take up a position in Uru'baen. I wanted to support my parents and siblings...."

"And you were with them all the time," Nasuada said. 

On the one hand, she understood the young man's motives. She, too, hoped to never have to face another battle, and at the moment the prospects for this were very favorable.

"You had a message for me at the time! Of.... Murtagh...." she said softly.

Rico nodded. "Yes! I was assigned to him as a servant when he served the king. He was never happy here and he said more than once that he would like to switch to your side. He was sorry that he killed the Dwarf King and he hoped that the dwarves would forgive him at some point...."

"I'm going to do this to King Orik," Nasuada said, as the young man scrambled around in a bag and finally pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment paper.

"This was what Murtagh gave me at the time, before I fled the city with other former servants and soldiers to join you. He said at the time that he would envy me. I could go while he had to stay. He asked me to align you where he wanted to meet you...."..." said Rico, handing her the parchment. 

"I shouldn't give this to you until after the battle. It should not fall into Galbatorix's hands, and it is only when he is defeated that one can get to the cause mentioned there...."..."

"Do you know what this letter says?" asked Nasuada.

Murtagh's former servant shook his head embarrassed. "No, I can't..... Read. I would like to learn it, but....."

"Well, we're going to build some schools. You will be able to learn it if you would like to. I owe you thanks, even if you left after the battle!" said the former leader of the Varden, beginning to read in the parchment.

Visibly shaken, she finally rolled it up and opened the door, which led out of her room onto the aisle.

"Please tell the dragon riders Eragon and Arya to come to me! I have important news," she instructed a servant.

She rushed away, while Nasuada closed the door and smiled at the servant. "It's not just me who owes you thanks. And maybe it was good to hold this letter back for a while. But I have another request to you. Tell me about Murtagh. From his time here in Uru'baen!"

She offered a place to the servant, and he remembered the time he had served the dead dragon rider. 'He wasn't particularly happy here. He did not want to serve the king. At first I was a little afraid of him when I became his servant. But he was kind to me and always treated me well. Not all servants were treated well here, the slaves were the worst off. It is good, by the way, that slavery has now been abolished!"

"Yes, that was an important concern for me and Eragon the Dragon Riders supported it," Nasuada said.

"At least others should be free if Murtagh and his dragon weren't," she thought, urging the servant to keep reporting.

"After a while he trusted me and then he learned that I wanted to escape. Then he gave me the news for you and entrusted the piece of parchment. He said it came from his father's personal possessions and the king would never have seen it because it was hidden in the secret compartment of a chest. He said that his father had once left him a good inheritance!"

"Yes, he really has," Nasuada muttered as the door opened. 

Eragon and Arya stepped in, and the former leader of the Vardens pointed to the piece of parchment. "This is very important!"

Nasuada, Arya, and Eragon stood before the wall of the dungeon. It was a cell in which prisoners awaiting execution had been held captive in Galbatorix times.

Chains hung on the walls and above all there was a moderate smell. 

"Here it should be! A horrible place to hide something valuable!" said Arya angrily, Eragon pressed her hand.

"Soon we will take them to a more beautiful place, it will only take a few more moments!"

They magically removed some stones, and eventually Eragon pulled a large sack from a small cavity that had been behind the wall.

"We're only going to open it upstairs," Nasuada said, and a distressed feeling spread in her stomach.

She would have preferred to have ripped the sack out of the dragon rider's hand.....

In Nasuada's study, they opened the sack and Eragon carefully laid a dragon egg on the floor. 

It shimmered in a bright brown tone. Next, the young dragon rider placed a golden, a white, a dark blue and a black dragon egg next to the brown.

"Five eggs!" Arya whispered softly, her eyes glowing. Eragon laughed. "No, not five. Eight eggs! Here in the sack are a lilac-colored, a silver and a grey egg! Eight dragon eggs....."

"We don't need to leave, Eragon!" said Arya happily. "We can search for riders here. But I understand that Murtagh did not want the hiding of eggs to be known before a victory over Galbatorix. He could have known. He had eight eggs near him for years and had no idea about them!"

Eragon laughed. "Yes, but how did Morzan know about it?"

Nasuada, staring at the lilac egg, said: "That's in this parchment. It does not come from Morzan, of course, but from another dragon rider. He was actually one of the apostates, but he was not entirely convinced of his king's plans. And the chest actually belonged to him. He hid the eggs and wrote the parchment in case something happened to him. Then he hid it in the secret compartment of the chest. His name was Lorcin!"

"Yes, Lorcin. I heard from him. He got into an argument with Morzan and he killed him, to the annoyance of Galbatorix, by the way. Lorcin's dragon was female, so the king actually needed her. She was the last female dragon after Morzan killed Saphira and he was severely punished by Galbatorix," said Arya, who recalled old stories she heard about the apostates.

"After recovering from his punishment, Morzan probably came to the conclusion that he was Lorcin's inheritance and took possession of his possessions, including the chest. He knew nothing about the secret compartment and the parchment. Apparently Morzan didn't use the chest or hardly used it, and it wasn't until Murtagh discovered the secret!" said Arya, looking at Eragon. "That Murtagh of all places helps to save the dragons...... why didn't he tell the king? Maybe he really wasn't on his side!"

"Yes, maybe. We should mention that it is thanks to him that the eggs were found. That should wash his bad name a little bit!" eragon replied, adding: "We're going to have a dragon egg test. All the people in Uru'baen and also the elves, who are here with the refurbishment work, should touch the eggs!"

"I don't think we have to wait that long, the first one wants to hatch now," Nasuada whispered, pointing to the lilac-colored egg. She took it in her hand and a loud cracking sounded before cracks formed.

The next moment the bowl burst and she held a small, lilac dragon in her arms. 

He looked at her from big black eyes and cuddled up to her arm bend, while Nasuada shrugged and looked at her hand. A strange time formed there.....

Three weeks later, Nasuada sat at Murtagh's grave. In her arm she held her little dragon, who looked curiously at the colorful flowers that grew on the burial mound. The most beautiful spring weather prevailed and the sun shone kindly down from the sky.

"This is my little Elijah! She's beautiful, isn't it? Two more dragons have hatched. One with a young elf. His name is Irlon and his dragon is dark blue. It's a little boy..." said Nasuada, smiling, implying that Murtagh was stalking the little creature.

She still thought of Murtagh with sadness and wished it had happened differently. But the loss didn't hurt as much as it did a few months earlier.

"Some wounds heal with time," she thought, smiling as little Elijah plucked a flower from the tomb.

"They belong to Murtagh! If you're a little bigger, I'll tell you everything about him. Anyway, everything I know. The other shall tell you Rico."

She looked at the tomb. "The other dragon hatched with him. He is also a male dragon and his name is Vanor. Everything about him is brown, even his eyes. He is calmer than my little Elijah....."

Nasuada got serious at one time. 'I don't know if I'm going to fall in love again. I do not believe in it at the moment. But since the dragons hatched I have spent some time with Rico. I like him, at the moment he's no more than a friend I don't have to face...... but I don't know what time will bring...."..."

She gently stroked over a flower before rising, with Elijah on her arm. 

Perhaps one day she would be ready for a new love, and deep inside she knew that Murtagh would not take it badly from her..

**The End**


End file.
